(I’m furiously working on re-painting my kitchen cabinets this week. So, I am thrilled to be sharing this guest post by Jennifer of Black Fox Homestead. I’m not a seamstress at all, so I love these ideas!)
Before I was married I had the privilege of owning and operating a small interior decorating business that specialized in custom window treatments. I designed, sold, and manufactured a wide variety of curtains, shades, and valances for a number of beautiful homes.
I would be the first to admit that custom-made is not a luxury that everyone can afford, but I feel that every home should have beautifully dressed windows and that lack of skill or resources should not prevent that.
Following are three “custom” unique looks using materials you probably already have at home, or could purchase at a low cost that can be assembled in less than 10 minutes without sewing a stitch.
Three Ideas for No-Sew Window Treatments
1. Vintage Scarf Cafe Curtain
Clip a sheer or semi-sheer 54″ scarf onto a spring tension rod and mount within a window.
2. Antique Lace Valance
Fold a vintage or antique lace runner, doily, or place mat over a spring tension rod and mount at the top of the window.
3. Tea Towel Valance
Fold a vintage, or vintage reproduction linen tea towel in half lengthwise down the middle and position over a spring tension rod.
Use alone:
or with a pair of ready made cafe curtains:
Tips on finding and using vintage linens:
*Some of the best places to locate vintage linens are consignment shops, estate sales, and garage sales.
*Don’t buy something simply because it is cheap. Only buy those things you really, really love.
*Most vintage items have been gently used and will most likely show some signs of wear. Don’t overlook something you really like because it is worn. These can add character and can be easily hidden behind a fold or with the addition of trim. Some of my favorite pieces are permanently creased. I use them anyway. Each of these imperfections are part of the ongoing story of the linen.
*”Ready made” cafe curtains such as the ones shown in the photo above can be purchased very inexpensively if you watch for sales at discount home stores. To get a rich look, don’t skimp on fullness. Your curtains should be at least 2x the width of your window – preferably more.
*Spring tension rods are inexpensive, come in a variety of finishes, and can be purchased at any home store.
About Jennifer:
My husband and I are “newbie homesteaders”, having just settled into a few acres in rural Oklahoma where we are working to establish a thriving homestead. I love gardening, cooking, canning, and making our little house a home. You can read more about us and our homesteading experience at the Black Fox Homestead Blog.
This post was shared at: Frugally Sustainable
About Jill Winger
I will be finishing up painting the kitchen/breakfastnook/back porch area today. I eventually want to crochet matching curtains for all windows 8-10 windows, but in the mean time I am considering buy lace curtain panels at the local faberic store. This piece was helpful with your ideas. Thanks for the thought that went into it. Love your site from an ol homesteader!
If you tat, there are ideas there for edging/trim, or even making a valance (or whole curtain) depending how skillful you are and how big the item you want to make. Just a thought!
Thank you Rachelle. I’m amazed that you are going to *crochet* your curtains. That will be beautiful. I love the look of lace in a farmhouse. Crocheting is something I have yet to learn.
I love these ideas! I’m going to be looking for vintage tea towels for my kitchen windows at the Flea Market and Antique show this weekend, I couldn’t have read your post at a better time! Thank you for the creative and beautiful ideas!
What a great idea to use a scarf. I have a few sheer floral vintage scarves in a drawer collecting dust…know I know what to do with them! Great post!
As a covering Muslimah, I have DRAWERS full of scarves. Wonder if I could pull off a bit of eclecticism??!! LOL!
I bet it would be really pretty!!
I love the scarf idea & look – I’m going to keep my eyes open next time I’m in an antique store – great ideas!
Oh yes, I especially like the idea of using antique ones!
I love this post! I just wanted to add something that is similar that I did:
Someone gave me a beautiful cloth sheer shower curtain embellished with sweet little roses to use with a shower liner. Unfortunately, I had moved into an apartment that only has a shower stall, no tub (oh, how I miss my claw foot tub!). I still had plastic shower rings, so I used them on the sheer shower curtain and stung it along a curtain rod (75ยข at walmart. Yay!).
On another note, if you have a tub, and use a longer and a cloth shower curtain, here is what we used to do: we would cut the cloth curtain straight up the middle. Then, we would tie up the sides using yarn, rope, or whatever was on hand. To make it look more fancy, we would take screws with hook ends and put them in each side of the wall, and then just hook the yarn or rope on it.
These are great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
These are lovely ideas. Thank you!
Absolutely beautiful curtains!!! I LOVE these ideas!!!
love the clip idea and just over the rod one! We were just in the thrift store last month checking out exactly this… Great post!
I love these ideas for curtains. Thanks for posting. But what I really want to know is how are you repainting your kitchen cabinets? Were the cabinets painted before or were they “finished”. I will be painting mine in the future and don’t know where to begin. Any tips or ideas you could post would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
It’s quite the project so far, but worth it! I plan to do a post highlighting how I did it. They were unfinished, and I’m painting them “farmhouse white.” Look for that post coming in the near future!
Thanks, Jill. I am looking forward to it.
I love the scarf window treatment. How clever!